Thoughts to excite, alarm or foil paradigms, senses of humor, and imagination although not always in that order.
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool."
-Richard P. Feynman (1918-1988) Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics 1965.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

And now, for that 100 knot submarine

Back in March, Molten Eagle illuminated some little reported facts about Those 345 MPH Supercavitating Torpedoes: Did You Know?Supercavitation involves surrounding an immersed object with a bubble that allows it to travel at high speed.No submariner read about supercavitation without wondering whether the technique could be applied to underwater craft besides torpedoes, right?Today, it has beenreported"General Dynamics, Northrop to study 115 mph sub"There is not much to the report, so here is the jist of it:Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics will help DARPA study the feasibility of technology with the potential for major velocity improvements for underwater craft. Grumman's Electronic Systems division (Annapolis, MD) has been awarded a contract worth $45.8 million, while Electric Boat received contracts valued at $37.1 million to develop "supercavitation" technologies.General Dynamics' press release added a few more details:speeds up to 100 knots (which is about 115 .1 mph)a new class of high-speed underwater craft for future littoral missions that could involve the transport of high-value cargo and/or small units of personnel.This contract contains two optionsSome Molten Eagle questions (critical thoughts and suggested answers only):1) What are the two options? Answer: Manned and unmanned2) Has the UK developed a technology already and shared it with the U.S. for costly development? ANSWER: Yes3) Will China attempt to emulate the technology at great cold-war type costs?ANSWER: Yes4) Will IRAN attempt to buy the technology from China or North Korea (DPRK)?Answer: Yes5) Does Russia alreay have a working model? ANSWER: Yes6) Is the U.S. trying to escalate potential aggressors' spending on costly weapons systems? ANSWER: It does not matter.7) Will the technology be applied to (a) UUV; (b) AIP submarine; (c) SEAL delivery sub; (d) nuke subs; (e) none of the above? ANSWER: (c), (a) and (b)8) What will the depth restriction be (think of impact at 115 mph)? ANSWER: Classified

About Me

Former submariner, later an investigator and audit manager. Currently, in an entrepreneurial mode. I have never missed a chance to vote (except local elections while at sea)and will continue to vote as an independent.